Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder believes his side were ‘never ready’ for the Premier League following their relegation from the top flight last season.
The Blades endured arguably the worst ever campaign for a Premier League team, finishing bottom on 16 points and conceding 104 goals. This saw them return to the Championship at the first time of asking, where they were met with a two point deduction.
Wilder, who return to Bramall Lane for a second stint a year ago, was faced with a rebuilding task during the summer. Their business has proven to be smart, with the Yorkshire-based side sitting top of the Championship having lost just twice all season.
They head into tomorrow’s clash with promotion rivals West Bromwich Albion in excellent form. They are unbeaten in their last seven games, winning six and drawing one.
Wilder Happy With Form
Wilder admits he is happy with how the season has unfolded so far, but has warned his squad there is still a long way to go. Speaking to official club media, the 57-year-old said:
“Everyone involved should be delighted in our early work, but most importantly the personality and characteristics of the players, nothing is won in early December, but we are in a decent place and I’m sure everyone is happier now than this time last year.”
Continuing, the former Middlesbrough boss claims his team were always destined to fail last season:
“Nobody expected us to be top of the league, some even thought we were on the slide again, through the trap door, back into League One.
“Other people have a lazy opinion that we were set to return to the Premier League and that we’d just had a poor season, but the team last season was never ready for the top-flight and it got brutally exposed, there was no hiding place.
“It hasn’t been a normal turnover of players, tweaking a couple and losing a couple, it has been a complete rebuild.”
Writer’s View
Sheffield United have emerged from the pack to become the team to beat in the Championship. Last weekend’s 1-0 win over Sunderland showed they have the steel to dig deep when it really matters and few would bet on them returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Burnley’s draw last night coupled with Leeds’ defeat last weekend mean that the ball is firmly in their court. Three points tomorrow would set them up nicely for the busy festive period.
